Many companies are testing their potential future employees. What can do you do to be sure you ace those tests? It helps if there is a way to find out what type of test they will be administering. If you know someone who works for the company, they may be able to tell you. When I was applying to be a pharmaceutical representative in the 80s, they gave me a personality test where I had to chose from groups of words that I would use to describe me and from words I would think others would use to describe me. Today, there are a lot more tests out there and it can be a challenge to find out which ones are being used.
The Washington Post had some advice for the job applicant faced with taking a test. Some of the advice they gave were to find out details about the test, search online for practice tests to try ahead of time, try not to over-analyze the questions, don’t get freaked out if you just simply can’t remember something, and ask for your results so that you can improve on areas where you didn’t do as well.
It is important to realize that testing is becoming part of the norm. According to Forbes, “Psychological scrutiny and rigorous simulations are fast becoming a requisite part of the interview process. Gone are the days when a clutch golf swing or well-schmoozed dinner might score you a spot in the C-suite. The downturn has shed a decidedly unflattering light on subjective hiring practices. Even the standard application-interview-résumé-and-reference-check formula has come under fire for being too soft and unreliable.”
To try out some free aptitude and employment tests, check out:
http://www.jobtestprep.co.uk/jtpsite/content/en-GB/3/chooseTrial.aspx
http://www.careerpath.com/
http://sjlibrary.org/research%5Cweb/iguide_subjectList.htm?t=36&catID=1095